Uncovering the Truth
by Duskheart
Summary: A mysterious murder committed by an unknown cat... With many troubles along the way, young Icepaw, apprentice of RiverClan, struggles to find out what really happened.
1. Allegiances

Allegiances

**Allegiances**

**RiverClan**

**Leader**** – **

Splashstar, white tom with gray splotches on pelt.

**Deputy**** – **

Arcticstorm, Completely white she-cat with intense blue eyes.

**Medicine Cat – **

Silvermist, silver tabby she-cat.

**Elders – **

Oneclaw, frail tom. Milk chocolate colored.

**Queens – **

Greenflower, black face, ears, and legs. The rest of her pelt is a dark brown.

Swiftstream, white paws. Fur is made up of shades of black and brown.

**Warriors – **

Shadefang, Completely black she-cat. Both ears and tail are tipped white, sparkling blue eyes.

Flashfoot, brown tabby tom.

Hazelfur, creamy pelted she-cat.

Ivyfire, beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat.

Smokeclaw, smoky gray she-cat.

Fogshadow, flaming red tabby tom with white paws and chest.

Lynxclaw, gray tabby tom with green eyes.

Duskheart, brown tom.

Rabbitwhisker, sandy colored tom.

Shrewtail, rowan colored with front right paw black.

**Apprentices –**

Minnowpaw, tortoiseshell she-cat.

Icepaw, dark gray she-cat with blue eyes.

Brightpaw, (med. Cat apprentice) light gray she-cat with blue eyes.

Snakepaw, white cat with a few black splotches.

Stormpaw, golden tom.

**ShadowClan**

**Leader –**

Sunstar, golden colored tom with darker stripes.

**Deputy – **

Ravenfang, pitch black tom with glowing yellow eyes.

**Medicine Cat – **

Pineleaf, light red tom.

**Apprentices – **

Badgerpaw, this tom is colored exactly like a badger. Extremely long, black claws.

Gladepaw, (med. Cat apprentice) white cat with a black tail.


	2. The Prologue

"Leave now," The white-pelted warrior hissed. Her powerful muscles rippled under her pelt. She instinctively unsheathed her claws.

Across from her stood another she-cat. Her black pelt almost made her a part of the shadows. She stared at the white warrior, her eyes cold with hatred and fury. "You choose to believe these weak-hearted fools…" She paused and closed her eyes, "You are no different…" She opened her eyes again, a glimpse of sadness was in them. Anger soon replaced it.

The white warrior was speechless. Meanwhile, a patrol came from some nearby bushes. One of them, a flame-colored cat, gasped. A moment later, she fled.

"I will leave…" Said the black-pelted warrior, "but I _will_ be back." She then turned and left.

A tom stepped out from the patrol and slowly carried the body back to camp.

**Author's Note: Please review! I want to know if this sounds interesting or not. Don't be afraid to comment.**


	3. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own practically all the characters in this story. **

Icekit gazed up at where her leader was standing. Perched on top of a high branch stood Splashstar, the current leader of RiverClan. Icekit looked to the side to find her sister sitting next to her. Both her and Brightkit's fur looked nice and well-groomed, their mother had made sure of that.

Splashstar gazed down upon them and motioned for them to come forward. They both stepped forward eagerly. "Icekit, until the day you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Icepaw," He began. "Your mentor will be Flashfoot." The tom picked his way down through the cats gathered there to the new apprentice. Icepaw stretched her head to touch noses with him, but they ended up colliding. "Ouch…" She mewed. They tried again, this time much more slowly.

"Brightkit," Splashstar started again, "will be the medicine cat apprentice. Her mentor will be Silvermist." Icekit watched as her sister and her mentor touched noses, much gentler than she had done. As soon as they were done, the crowd started cheering, "Icepaw! Brightpaw!"

Icepaw looked at Brightpaw with admiration. It was hard to be a medicine cat. Never taking a mate, never being able to fight. All she could do was learn to treat injuries. To Icepaw it was like being caged up, not actually living. There was nothing she could do, though, Brightpaw had chosen her path.

Icepaw snapped back to reality when she heard her mentor's voice. "Hello? Icepaw? You've just been standing there doing nothing…" Flashfoot mewed.

"Huh? What?" Icepaw mewed quickly. "What? Are we under attack or something?" She mewed hurriedly as if enemy cats would explode into the clearing just then.

Flashfoot looked amused, "No. I was trying to talk to you, but you were sleeping on your paws. What I was trying to say was that we'll start training by tomorrow. I want you to get some rest."

Icepaw nodded, "Okay. I will." She turned and padded toward the apprentices' den. She stopped and took one look at the sky. What she saw made her gasp. No stars hung in Silverpelt. No warrior ancestors were watching them that night.

**I tried to make the chapter a little longer than the prologue. I hoped it turned out okay. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 2

**Thanks to anyone who's actually reading this! **

Icepaw woke drowsily the next day in the apprentices' den. She staggered to her paws, then suddenly it hit her. All the other apprentices were gone! She herself was already supposed to be out training with Flashfoot. The apprentice was angry that no one else bothered to wake her on her first day. Soon that anger turned to anxiety. Flashfoot was most likely mad by now.

She quickly leaped out of the den, not even pausing to say sorry to the little kit she had accidentally pushed on her way out. At this rate, she would never make it in time. Finally, she made it to a small mossy hollow. Her mentor was already there, but it was hard to tell what the expression on his face was.

She skidded to a halt, accidentally kicking up some moss. Flashfoot glanced at her, "…You're late." He sighed, then continued, "Didn't you already get enough rest last night?"

Icepaw opened her moth to protest. "But-" She started, but Flashfoot cut her off.

"Look, Icepaw, if you really want to be a warrior, you're going to have to learn some diligence. It's not just work when you want," Flashfoot mewed sternly.

Icepaw opened her mouth once again, then clearly thought better of it. "Okay, Flashfoot." She was a little nervous to speak to her mentor this time, just in case he was still angry. Finally, she gathered up her courage. "Okay, what are we going to do today?"

Flashfoot spent a few moments thinking. Icepaw sat there. She wouldn't pressure him to hurry up and think. After all this was his first time as a mentor. Finally, he spoke, "Well, I'll assume that you haven't been out on RiverClan's territory much; we could start with learning it."

Icepaw nodded, "Okay. Sounds fun." She followed Flashfoot slowly out of the hollow. When both cats were soon well away from the hollow, Flashfoot started to dash. Icepaw struggled to keep up, "Wait for me!"

Flashfoot kept the same pace.

Meanwhile, Icepaw was panting behind him. Even more determined to prove herself, she quickly sped up. She was so determined that she didn't notice the branch in front of her. She tried jumping over it, but it was a little too late. She went flying and landed with a thud.

Flashfoot stopped and padded back to his apprentice, "Are you okay?"

Icepaw scrabbled to her paws, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She was somewhat dazed and she could almost swear that she saw little stars flying around. Shaking her head, she quickly got rid of it. "Whe-where are we?" She asked.

Flashfoot looked around. "We are currently at the border that connects RiverClan territory with ShadowClan territory," He answered. "We have to be careful here. There might be a patrol about."

Icepaw nodded slowly, then both she and Flashfoot quietly padded down the border. A few tail-lengths to the edge of the lake they caught the scent of ShadowClan, only stronger. Forgetting about being quiet, Icepaw exclaimed loudly, "Yuck! What's that nasty smell?" She had never smelled anything so horrible.

"Shhh!" Flashfoot mewed. "That's the ShadowClan scent. There's a patrol here." He knew that it was dangerous to be seen by a patrol, even though they were on their side of the border. Still, he wasn't going to take any chances. Luckily, the wind was blowing toward them. "Come on, they're coming closer!" He mewed.

Icepaw quickly followed. She didn't know why they had to hide if this was their territory. She quickly scurried into a nearby group of reeds. Hearing voices in the distance, she strained her ears to hear what they were saying. "I smell RiverClan," One voice mewed. Icepaw's heart beat quicker.

"That's because we're close to their territory. Seriously, Badgerpaw, use your brain," An older voice mewed. Icepaw's ears perked up. Another apprentice like her! She peered out of the reeds. There stood a particularly well-muscled apprentice, though he looked much more like a warrior. The only difference there was, was in size. His pelt color was strange as well. It was like a badger's, with the striped head and muzzle.

A few very long minutes passed and Flashfoot gave the signal that it was okay. Icepaw quickly padded out of her hiding place.

Flashfoot sighed, "Phew. That was close. Now, I think we should start exploring the rest of the territory." He looked up at the sky, "It's already beginning to be late. Let's see what we can explore before it gets dark."

Icepaw nodded, but she wasn't entirely concentrating on what her mentor was saying. All she could think of was the ShadowClan apprentice Badgerpaw.


	5. Chapter 3

It had been more than a couple of sunrises since Icepaw had explored the territory with Flashfoot. Yet as much as she tried, she couldn't get the picture of Badgerpaw out of her head. Something amazed her about him; perhaps it was his strange pelt colors that made him so different from her own Clanmates.

Pushing the thought out of her head, she bent down over the fresh-kill pile and took a fat, juicy mouse that had filled up on food during the rich newleaf. She took a bite into it and thoroughly enjoyed the taste flowing through her mouth. She quickly devoured the mouse and wished she could take another piece. She was starving after all the battle practice she had done with Flashfoot earlier that day.

Instead of taking another piece, however, she headed toward the medicine cat's den, eager to find out how her sister was getting along. She padded into it, a few thorns pricking at her pelt as she passed through. There she found her sister hard at work, mixing different herbs into poultices.

"Hey, Brightpaw," Icepaw mewed. She looked around the den, "Where's Silvermist?" She stared at the ground, her eyes filled with pity for the medicine cat apprentice. She still couldn't believe that Brightpaw wanted to be a medicine cat. After a few moments, she focused her sight on her sister again.

Brightpaw, who undoubtedly noticed her gaze full of pity, glanced away. "She's gone out to collect herbs…" She mewed simply, not meeting Icepaw's eyes. The medicine cat apprentice seemed fidgety.

Icepaw didn't know how to reply, "Er… okay…" She glanced away, to the thorn barrier protecting the den. "Well…" She started off, then stopped abruptly.

Brightpaw stiffened. "What…?" She mewed warily.

Icepaw only shrugged. Today wasn't the best day for both of them, she could tell. Both apprentices seemed fidgety and restless. It was still odd, though. After all, why would she be acting like this because of an encounter with a ShadowClan apprentice…?

Suddenly Silvermist padded into the medicine cat's den. Icepaw sighed with relief. _Saved…_

Silvermist turned toward Icepaw, her jaws full of herbs. She set them down, then turned to the apprentice, "How can we help you, Icepaw?" Though her mew had a calm tone to it, her eyes had a glint of fear in them.

Icepaw shrugged, "I'm fine. I only came here to see how Brightpaw is doing."

The medicine cat nodded, "Oh, okay." Without another word, she padded out of the medicine cat den in a rush.

Icepaw peeked out of the den, just in time to see Silvermist going into Splashstar's den. "Whoa, what's gotten into her…?" She asked herself. Usually Silvermist was a very calm cat.

Brightpaw answered her, "It must be something very urgent… Perhaps she received a sign from StarClan…"

"…Perhaps…" Icepaw echoed.

It was not long, however, before Splashstar's call rang out in the clearing. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Tall Oak for a Clan meeting."

Icepaw immediately left the medicine cat's den. Brightpaw quickly set her work down and followed her sister. They arrived to find that the leader was sitting on an oak tree, one of the few rare trees found in their territory. Splashstar was sitting on the lowest branch, gazing down at the gathering Clan.

When the Clan had assembled he started. "Cats of RiverClan," He mewed. Flicking his tail at the medicine cat, he began again, "Silvermist, while out looking for herbs, found evidence of ShadowClan intruders."

Icepaw's heart skipped a beat. _ShadowClan?!_

"It was a few moments later that she actually saw some of these intruders," Splashstar mewed, his gaze cold.

Silvermist spoke next, "It was a patrol. Made up of around 3 warriors and 2 apprentices."

Several of the cats spoke out next. "Did anyone do anything?"

"Why didn't you attack them…?"

"We should go get them right now!"

Eventually, Splashstar quieted the crowd with a flick of his tail. "These cats won't leave our territory without a few scratches on their pelts. We must send out one of our own patrols to go and attack." He quickly jumped down from the Tall Oak and padded over to a white she-cat.

They talked for a few moments, then the she-cat's mew rose so that all the Clan could hear her. "Okay, Ivyfire, you'll be coming with us. So will…" She paused, gazing over the cats. "Shadefang, Flashfoot, and Hazelfur."

All of the named cats nodded and each one went up to join the patrol with the deputy. Flashfoot, however, spoke up suddenly. "Hey, Arcticstorm…" He started off.

"Yes…?" The deputy mewed impatiently, with narrowed eyes. If they wanted to catch up with the ShadowClan patrol, they had to leave now.

"Well," Flashfoot mewed, staring down at the ground, not meeting the deputy's gaze. "Maybe… perhaps… Could Icepaw come along with us, too? She's been training really hard."

Icepaw looked up at both cats with surprise. _Me…? Go fight ShadowClan…? But I've only been an apprentice for a little bit. I can't possibly fight in a battle. _Though she was worried, excitement also surged through her.

It was a few moments before Arcticstorm replied, clearly she was thinking hard about it. Eventually, she made up her mind. "Okay… She can come."

**So the battle is obviously going to be in the next chapter. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey everyone please review! By the way, I know this story isn't the best… It's my first, after all. P **

**Disclaimer: Dunno, if I had to put this, but… **

**I don't own Warriors, but I do own the fan-made characters, unless said otherwise. Erin Hunter owns the original warriors and the whole concept… I guess. **

The RiverClan patrol had finally made it to the ShadowClan border. Each cat of the patrol kept a sharp lookout, just in case the ShadowClan cats had expected them.

Finally finding the puny patrol, the deputy started giving out orders. "Flashfoot," Arcticstorm hissed. "Make sure Icepaw doesn't get hurt…"

Icepaw narrowed her eyes. She hated the way the deputy was treating her, as though she were a small kit. She could take care of herself at least, she thought she could.

Flashfoot nodded. With that taken care of, the white-pelted warrior gazed at the ShadowClan patrol. Three warriors and two apprentices… Just like Silvermist had said. "Okay, here's what we'll do," she whispered. "We'll just surprise them…" She paused then added an extra warning, "Make sure Icepaw's okay."

Suddenly, and without warning, they charged.

The ShadowClan patrol looked up as they heard the rustle of leaves. One of them, with a stunned look on his face, simply stared.

Arcticstorm smirked, "Scared…?" Her taunting voice grew more menacing. "What are you doing on our territory?" She challenged.

The ShadowClan warrior snarled back a reply, "That is none of your concern." He looked alarmed, however. Apparently the warrior wasn't as confident as he looked.

Icepaw watched the cats. There she spotted the ShadowClan apprentice Badgerpaw, the cat she had seen earlier. Suddenly, fear gripped her. She was supposed to face him…? _No way… I can't do this…_ She stared at this long, black claws and imagined them sinking into a cat's pelt. She shivered.

"Well, just to let you know, you're on RiverClan territory." Arcticstorm mewed. She added, "I didn't know ShadowClan cats got lost so easily.…"

The ShadowClan cats simply stared, silent. However, the tom that had spoke earlier, twitched the top of his tail slightly. Without warning, the enemies launched themselves at the RiverClan cats. Though the RiverClan patrol was larger, the ShadowClan cats seemed stronger.

Immediately Icepaw glanced around for Flashfoot, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Suddenly something hard crashed onto her back. She collapsed from the weight. Struggling to get up, she rolled in a feeble attempt to dislodge her attacker. Succeeding, the she-cat got up and faced her attacker.

It was a she-cat from ShadowClan. She looked around the age of an apprentice. The enemy's fur was matted, as though she hadn't even tried to groom herself.

Icepaw, without a second look, ran toward her, scoring her claws down the she-cat's flank. The she-cat, though dazed, quickly recuperated and aimed a swift blow at Icepaw's head.

Icepaw, stunned, simply stood there. Suddenly, something hit her from behind. Completely thrown off, Icepaw was thrown quite a distance away. It took a few moments for the RiverClan apprentice stood up, but finally she did. Gasping, she recognized Badgerpaw.

Badgerpaw, seeing Icepaw's surprise, took this as a chance and launched himself onto Icepaw, pinning her down. "…RiverClan cats are so weak…" He muttered quietly to himself.

Icepaw had no clue what else to do. Instead of doing something heroic, she simply struggled, trying to get away from his hard grasp.

The ShadowClan apprentice let her go and she bolted off deeper into RiverClan territory.

Badgerpaw smirked as she ran away. "Yeah, go back to your twolegs, kittypet!" He called after her.

After a long distance of running, Icepaw sat down. _I blew it…_ She thought, all the time, trying to catch her breath._ Flashfoot isn't going to want me for an apprentice now…I failed my first… and only battle. _


	7. Chapter 5

A/N - -gasp- I'm finally updating

**A/N - -gasp- I'm finally updating! I also added an Allegiances page. Oh, and also, since I'm making the allegiances during the middle of the story I might make a few mistakes. If so, please point them out. Also, another note about the Allegiances… All of the characters might not be listed there. It's gonna be updated as each character is introduced. **

She gasped, trying her best to catch her breath. Icepaw was tired from running so far from the battle. She had tried her best, yet she had failed. She knew that she had done horribly for an apprentice. She had often heard the other apprentices, such as Snakepaw, boast about how well they had done. Then again, Snakepaw was arrogant.

The apprentice sat down on the ground, resting. The battle was likely over by now. RiverClan most likely won, which was good, yet she didn't feel like celebrating. Images kept on popping up in her mind, most of them of Badgerpaw. She didn't know why, but she couldn't get the ShadowClan apprentice out of her head.

Suddenly, Icepaw heard rustling behind her. She whipped around, fur bristling, waiting for something to attack her.

Instead of the dangerous ShadowClan cat she had expected, Flashfoot padded calmly out of the brush. "It's okay. It's only me."

Icepaw sat down, relieved. She was glad it wasn't an intruder, yet she really didn't want to see Flashfoot at the moment.

Flashfoot sat down next to her. "Are… are you okay?" He asked hesitantly.

"No," Icepaw replied. "What do you think?" She spat. "I got beat up over there."

Flashfoot simply stared at her. "It was only your first battle," He mewed quietly. "That's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, it's okay… No one's perfect."

"I know," The apprentice meowed back. She was obviously frustrated. "It's just that… that all the other apprentices are boasting in my face about how well they do. Snakepaw was telling me how he managed to fend off a WindClan intruder."

"Yeah, but Snakepaw probably exaggerated that. He always does," Flashfoot snorted. "He can never tell the truth sometimes." A small silence followed that. Trying to lift her spirits, he mewed, "Well, RiverClan won the fight."

"I kinda expected that," Icepaw mewed. "ShadowClan had such a small party."

Flashfoot nodded. "Yeah, I expected that also. Hey… the apprentice that chased you off… was it a badger-colored tom? He was running like a little kit as soon as the rest of the patrol got to him."

Icepaw stared at Flashfoot in surprise. "Really?" She laughed. "Wow, I wish I could've seen that."

Flashfoot nodded again, "Yeah, I didn't think he would run off as fast as he did. Guess he really wanted to get out of there." Sighing, he looked around the forest. It was starting to darken. "Well, we should really get back to camp."

The apprentice stared up at the sky. A few StarClan warriors were starting to come out. Icepaw hadn't realized how late it had gotten. "Yeah, okay." She ran off, not waiting to see if Flashfoot was coming.

Flashfoot sighed. His apprentice acted so rashly. He followed slowly.

The clearing was empty by the time they got there. Most of the StarClan warriors were now sparkling in the night.

"We're having training again tomorrow," Flashfoot mewed to Icepaw. "I was thinking some hunting practice." He had originally thought of battle practice, but after that day, he really didn't want her to remember her failure and disappointment.

Icepaw merely nodded. "Sounds good," She meowed, heading off to the apprentices' den without another word.

Icepaw's dreams were troubled. She was traveling in a forest, and she had no clue where she was. She had seen nowhere like this. It was totally unfamiliar. The forest was filled with shadows, yet it didn't have an eerie feel to it. It was calm and when she looked up, stars filled the dark sky.

The apprentice was looking around. She caught sight of a black tail disappearing into a bush. Icepaw followed it. This was certainly _not_ a shadow.

She followed the mysterious thing, yet it seemed as though Icepaw could never catch up to it. "Wait!" She called out frantically, desperate to actually see what it was. She assumed that it was a cat. "Wait, please!" She called again.

Suddenly the thing disappeared altogether, just like how the shadows disappear when the sun rises. Icepaw stood still, and a cold breeze rushed over her. It ruffled her gray fur. Suddenly, she woke up.


End file.
